Relevance – Tech News: The iPad has been on the market for two years now. With a second milestone of 200,000 iPad applications on the App Store nearing, there’s no better time than now to reassess how to approach the UX of iPad applications.

Some of the ideas in this article are relevant to all tablets, not just the iPad. But in consideration of the tremendous success of the iPad (73% of all tablet sales last year), it does warrant specific attention and focus. So, without further ado, here are five interface guidelines to (re)consider when approaching the UX and design of iPad applications.

Relevance – Tech: Ever taken a shot with Instagram and wanted to put the lo-fi border on the Earlybird filter? A photo app called Pixlr-o-matic can do it, and the service behind it, Pixlr, offers photographers and photo editors a lot more.

There’s no shortage of online photo editors that are looking to fill the vacuum now that Picnik has gone dark, but few have anything that approaches the powerful feature set of Photoshop. At the same time, once you get into full-on editing, the mainstream user — who probably just wants to apply an Instagram-esque filter — gets lost.

Relevance: Boston BusinessThe raids on suspected EBT-scamming businesses and arrests of accused welfare cheats in Boston and across the state yesterday were just the beginning of a law enforcement crackdown that was launched even as Gov. Deval Patrick has defended the scandal-plagued program and lawmakers bicker about reforms.

Relevance: Print Media The New York TimesCo. reported today that ad sales at the Boston Globe, the Worcester Telegram and their websites plunged 12.2 percent during the first quarter, dragging down the overall company’s results.

The Times Co. said advertising at its New England Media Group — which consists of the Globe, the Telegram and their online operations — fell to $41.9 million during the quarter.

Relevance – Food/Retail: Just weeks after the world’s largest coffee chain took serious PR heat for switching to commonly-used cochineal beetles to color its Strawberry Frappuccinos, Starbucks has made a rapid reversal in how it colors its drinks and some of its other foods.

Relevance – Economy/National News: Roughly 7,300 residents and businesses harmed by the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will get more than $64 million in additional payments because their claims with BP’s $20 billion compensation fund were shortchanged or wrongfully denied, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

Relevance – Technology: Microsoft is facing some of the biggest challenges in its history with the rise of smartphones and the iPad, but one of its stalwarts of the personal computer era showed there is still life left in its main business.

Relevance: Local Boston MIT news WASHINGTON – The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is proposing to build a $450 million research facility at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford in a long-term venture that would reinforce the base’s high-tech mission without requiring new federal spending, according to government officials

Relevance: Local Boston News: A violent week in the city of Boston continued Thursday morning when a Boston University graduate student was fatally shot in a part of the Allston section that is usually safe, police and neighbors said.

Relevance: Red Sox Nation This article is excerpted from “Fenway Park: A Salute to the Coolest, Cruelest, Longest-Running Major League Baseball Stadium in America,” produced by The Boston Globe and published by Running Press.

The storied home of the Red Sox for a century, “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark’’ also is the oldest in the major leagues, and the most famous. From the classic brick entrance on Yawkey Way to the unique left-field wall with its manual scoreboard to Pesky’s Pole in right field, its timeless features are recognized from the Bronx to the Dominican Republic to Japan.

The world’s largest fast-food chain has been able to boost guest traffic and sales faster than most of its competitors with its increasingly diverse menu—ranging from value-price offerings to higher-margin products like blended-ice drinks—and its growing global operations.

Relevance: Politics President Barack Obama’s efforts to project himself as a protector of the middle class have strengthened him for the general election, while Mitt Romney has gained traction with his argument that he can improve the economy, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds.

Some seven months before the election, the survey showed that both men are starting the head-to-head contest with core strengths and myriad challenges. As he has since January, Mr. Obama tops Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, by six percentage points in the survey, 49% to 43%, a lead just within the poll’s margin of error.

Relevance: Global News The Norwegian right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in shooting and bombing attacks last year said Friday he studied the Oklahoma bomber in planning his attacks and spent years dehumanizing his victims in preparation for what he calls a war against Muslim immigration in Europe.